GURPS For Dummies (For Dummies (Sports & Hobbies)) (Paperback)

by Adam Griffith (Author), Bjoern-Erik Hartsfvang (Author), Stuart J. Stuple (Author) "Role playing games (RPGs) are all about playing a fictional character who moves through a fictional world..." (more)
Key Phrases: Innate Attack, Steve Jackson Games, Bjoern's Avonlea (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description
This is it—the key that unlocks the riches of GURPS (Generic Universal Role Playing System) and gives you a wealth of information on how to create your character and fine-tune your play. Produced in partnership with Steve Jackson Games, the game's creator, GURPS For Dummies is the ideal companion to GURPS Basic Set, 4th Edition that explains the rules. It gives you insight into the choices you’ll make in everything from creating a fun, dynamic character using the allotted number of points, to playing in an adventure, to becoming a GM. Whether you want to be an Amazon princess or a stalwart warrior, an old-fashioned swashbuckler or a modern investigator, a tough cop or a cat burglar, a sorcerer casting spells or a cosmic ranger, fighting lawlessness in the asteroids, this guide will help you:

• Determine your character’s basic attributes: IQ, DX (dexterity), ST (strength) and HT (health)
• Figure out your character’s secondary characteristics
• Choose advantages (including powers and perks) and disadvantages (including quirks and disadvantages with a self-control roll modifier)
• Optimize your points by using talents
• Select your skills based on functional area or the campaign setting
• Enhance your character with spells, magic items, magic staves, and powerstones
• Strategically purchase equipment for different characters, tech levels, and campaign types
• Create and manage a character sheet, write a character background, keep a character log, and more—all with samples
• Choose good combat techniques and play with your character

If you want to become a GM, this guide gets you going with advice on creating the adventure, managing the character creation process, managing combat, and interpreting the rules. There’s even a handy Cheat Sheet tear-out GM screen in the front of the book. There are tips throughout, plus advice on how to:

• Create your very own GURPS universe for your campaign, whether it’s dungeon-crawl, high-adventure, combat-focused, puzzle-focused, or masquerade-type
• Provide a basic write-up of the world for your players, including technology level, supernatural and supernormal abilities and powers, races, setting, character templates, cultural and social information, and limitations
• Create an electronic combat grid, a battle log, a tactical map, and more—with samples
• Do mapping, planning, and plotting
• Create memorable NPC (nonplayer characters), both good guys and bad guys

GURPS For Dummies helps you create more detailed, exciting, and interesting characters and take your game to the next level. That’s important whether you’re saving a princess or saving the planet…searching for hidden treasure or for secrets to eliminate disease… fighting crime or combating armies of evil robots…casting spells in medieval castles or destroying terrorist cells in modern day milieus. With GURPS, the only limitation is your imagination.

From the Back Cover
Get the scoop from the experts and start playing today

This is it — the secret passageway to success (and fun) with GURPS

GURPS (Generic Universal Role Playing System) is not like other role playing games because it gives you the freedom to create any world or character you can imagine. This fun and easy guide gets you up to speed, so you can get into the game and hold your own right from the start.

Discover how to:

• Develop your character's skills and attributes
• Prepare for combat and other encounters
• Role play your character's personality
• Become a Game Master
• Create and populate your own game world

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Product Details

• Paperback: 410 pages
• Publisher: For Dummies (March 21, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0471783293
• ISBN-13: 978-0471783299
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 7.3 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #388,544 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

40 of 41 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Real RPG "How To", April 25, 2006

By	George Anderson "Shayd3000" (Ft. Loudon, PA USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

After having read the lackluster reviews of D&D for Dummies, I was a bit hesitant to purchase this title sans any exisiting reviews, however, I took the leap anyway, and was not dissapointed.

The first thing you notice when you open the book is the great three-panel double sided pullout cheat sheet containing a ton of information that is invaluable to have at your fingertips during play! This alone is worth almost the cost of the book, and for new players gives them their options in a succint little package.

The book basically appeals to two audiences: Players and Game Masters and the six sections of the book are divided amongst the two.

PART ONE introduces GURPS and gives a player tips on how to come up with the foundation of a character, that is the concept and role the character will play in the story. This information is applicable to any role playing game, and the advice is clear and uncomplicated. This section continues on to describe how to use the GURPS rules as the building blocks of the character, not by teaching the rules or by repeating the rules (you need the GURPS books for that) but by telling you how the different elements work in the game and interact together. In other words, they tell you how to use the game mechanics to recreate what is in your imagination. Its almost like having an experienced player actually helping you through the process step by step, explaining what each thing in the rulebook REALLY MEANS and how it will REALLY WORK (or not work). You are told how high is high, and how low is low.

PART TWO builds on Part One by going into more detail on magic, powers, technology, and non-humans. This section is basically a much deeper exploration of all the different ways the elements of the game (advantages, perks, talents, skills, etc) can be put together, and how each one works. The authors also provide insight on how to use the different game mechanics to achieve the vision you have for your character, and the possible ways to get there (as there is usually more than one).

PART THREE gives solid advice on role playing, again, relevant to any RPG. Combat is explained, with very detailed information given to how different elements works together in combat and how combat flows in GURPS (which can be much different than other RPG's). I would have liked to have seen more information regarding the various reach ranges, because they can have a major affect on swords and sorcery type games. The combat chapter teaches you how to choose armor, what choices there are in combat and more importantly, why you would want to choose certain options, when and how to defend yourself, and how to make wise weapon choices. In fact, there is an excellent chart describing what the solid weapopn choices are for each character strength level. This is perfect for those countless times I have heard players say "What weapon should I choose?". There is a great section on how to solve common combat problems (too many opponents, can't penetrate armor, etc) and a section on how best to use healing magic. This section also describes good ways to keep track of all the information used in GURPS.

PART FOUR is where the Game Mastering (GMing) section begins. This section and the next should be read by every GM, no matter what the game they run. I've been GMing and playing for almost 30 years, and I found the advice in this section and the next to be invaluable. Part Four describes how to be a GM, gives an EXCELLENT chapter on how to design an adventure with an example of how that would play out.

PART FIVE describes how to build the campaign, that is the world, or epic, or whatever that will be the focus of why the story is, what the story is, and why are the players even creating characters to begin with. The advice is once again solid, and while there are references on how to use GURPS, as in Part Four, the information is applicable to any Role Playing Game/GM.

PART SIX are three short chapters containing the authors' preferences for spending points, their top ten favorite advantages, and top ten favorite disadvantages. There was to be a chapter on the "10 skills no PC should be without" but it was apparently cut. Seeing the chapter released in electronic format would be a great addition to the book.

Overall, this book is a "must have" for anyone even contemplating playing or running a GURPS game. New players will find the answers and help they need to bring their imagination to life, and old veterans will find an angle they hadn't thought of. The GMing section really could have been "Game Mastering for Dummies", because the tips and advice here go beyond what do do in GURPS. I wish I had seen this advice when I first started GMing oh-so-long-ago. This book should be considered the third of the core books (Characters and Campaigns being the first two) and is a book no gaming library should be without.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great "howto" for a great system., June 9, 2008

By	William Twentyman - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

GURPS is already a great system, but the massive volume of data can easily overwhelm someone, especially if this is their first RPG. GURPS for Dummies provides the perspective needed to digest and begin taking advantage of this great system. Be aware that several important source books have been released since the publication of GURPS for Dummies, but the consistency of the GURPS rules don't significantly impact its effectiveness.

2 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars GURPS made simple, March 13, 2007

By	T. Rumbach - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

It's a great view of role playing in general. GURPS is already an easy system, and GURPS For Dummies makes it idiot proof. A must for folks playing or running GURPS games.